The Discovery from NASA’s Cassini Changes the Way Experts see Saturn

A shocking feature emerging at the northern pole of Saturn was spotter by scientists who used the data Cassini spacecraft from NASA collected. Their discovery is a hexagonally shaped jet stream which is warm and high in altitude, and as Saturn nears summertimes, it emerges from its northern pole.

Further detail on Saturn’s hexagon

The journal Nature Communications has published some findings based on which the experts realized that the vortex they have seen was the popular hexagon discovered in Saturn’s deepest clouds from the study.

In case the hexagon reaches lower altitude, the results suggest that it might have an influence on what happens above it. This vector which’s structure is tower-like is anticipated to be hundreds of miles high.

According to the University of Leicester in Britain’s Leight Fletcher who is also the study’s lead author, the recently-found vortex has hexagonal edges which match Saturn’s hexagonal could pattern which is located in this more profound atmosphere.

Before NASA’s Cassini mission

In 2004, Cassini arrived at the Saturnian system, more specifically, while it was summertime in the southern hemisphere and the midst of winter in the northern hemisphere.

The southern pole of Saturn presented the spacecraft with a warm vortex high in altitude which got spied on. There was no such vortex at the northern pole of the planet in that period.

However, the new study discovered that such a vortex is highly rising in the north pole of the planet as well while it is approached by Saturn’s summertime.

The warm vortex is located above the clouds at a distance of hundreds of miles, more specifically in the stratosphere. The vortex also has surprised experts.

The scientist of the Cassini project says that even though the spacecraft has been orbiting Saturn for 13 years now, the hexagon remains a mystery.

Cassini is prone to discovering even more of the planet. It just takes quite a while.

Laura grew up in a small town in northern Quebec. She studied chemistry in college, graduated, and married her husband one month later. They were then blessed with two baby boys within the first four years of marriage. Having babies gave their family a desire to return to the old paths – to nourish their family with traditional, homegrown foods; rid their home of toxic chemicals and petroleum products; and give their boys a chance to know a simple, sustainable way of life. They are currently building a homestead from scratch on two little acres in central Texas. There’s a lot to be done to become somewhat self-sufficient, but they are debt-free and get to spend their days living this simple, good life together with their five young children. Laura is an advocate for people with disabilities.